


First Day

by Sproggo



Series: Roommates AU [2]
Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Adventure, Akko takes meds, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Diana is nicer than in canon, Friendship, Humor, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25093033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sproggo/pseuds/Sproggo
Summary: After an exciting journey to get there, Akko, Diana, and Amanda are ready for their first day at Luna Nova! But after getting a taste of the Luna Nova lifestyle, they realize it's not quite what they thought, and Diana is driven to her wit's end by her teammate's antics. However, when a disaster befalls the school, it's up to these witches to prove their worth and save the day.
Series: Roommates AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1496075
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Part 2 of Roommates AU is here! Hope you all enjoy reading.  
> Special thanks to TaniaHylian for beta-reading, I greatly appreciate it!  
> With all that said, enjoy!

**Chapter 1:**

A series of flashing green stars burst onto the stage, and from the flames came the one and only Shiny Chariot. The audience erupted in applause. Akko couldn’t even contain her excitement considering she was standing on the stage right next to her!

“Isn’t it great?”

Akko turned to see Chariot, now facing her with a bright smile, one which Akko returned tenfold.

“Even if it’s only a show, this is the magic that can light a spark of joy in even the coldest of hearts!”

Akko could only nod in agreement before looking out to the cheering crowd, amongst the masses she could barely make out a little girl with blonde hair, cheering loudly as she was sitting upon what appeared to be her mother’s shoulders. There was something familiar about this girl, but what it was she was unsure of.

“Akko, I want _you_ to light that spark again…”

“What?”

Akko looked over to Chariot holding out Shiny Rod to her in offering. Akko could only stammer as she looked upon the rod in awe.

“Y-You’re serious?”

“Of course I am, Silly!” chuckled Chariot at Akko’s confusion. “But there’s something you need to do first…”

W-What’s that?” asked Akko hesitantly.

“Wake up,” replied Chariot with a stoic face.

“Huh?”

“Wake up.” repeated Chariot “Wake up, wake up, wake up…”

“WAKE UP ALREADY!”

“Huah!”

Akko jumped up from her bed and slammed her head on the top bunk with a thunk. She winced in pain and squinted her eyes to see Diana looking back at her anxiously.

“Finally!” snapped Diana, “Do you know what time it is?!”

“Uggh,” muttered Akko as she rubbed her head. “...Good morning to you too.”

Diana stared in annoyance at Akko’s sarcasm.

“Well, at least you’re awake.” she replied, “Unlike your bunkmate.”

Akko stepped out from under the bunk and looked up to see Amanda, still under the covers, and snoring loudly. Akko giggled quietly as she carefully nudged the fiery-haired witch's head.

“Amanda,” she said with a feigning innocence. “Time to get up sweepy head.”

“Mmmph,” muttered the still sleeping Amanda, “Wanna pet the kitty, Mommy…”

Akko covered her mouth to try and contain her laughter. Diana simply rolled her eyes and took her turn at shaking Amanda awake.

“Get a move on,” she ordered, “Or we’ll be late for class.”

“Mmmm…five more years…”

Fed up, Diana raised her wand causing Amanda to levitate off her bed.

“You may want to stand back,” she told Akko, who obliged as Diana moved the sleeping rebel over the floor, before uncasting the spell, causing Amanda to hit the floor with a thud.

“OWW! Shit!” shouted Amanda as she rubbed her rear end. Diana flicked Amanda’s forehead.

“HEY! What was that for?!”

“Language.”

Amanda growled in annoyance.

“Don’t remember asking for a wake-up call,” she said in a tired voice.

“Well someone had to get you two out of bed!” replied Diana, “Look at the time!”

Akko looked to her watch, while Amanda looked over as well.

“Hey, classes don’t start for another hour!” shouted Amanda.

“Wait, you mean you deprived me of an hour of sleep?!” chimed in Akko.

“It’s called managing your time.” sighed Diana, “Think about it, now that you’re up, you can get showered, dressed, eat breakfast, and still get to class on time!”

Amanda scowled as Akko’s eyes alit with realization.

“Oh yeah! Today’s the first day of classes!” She said excitedly. “I can’t wait to get started!”

“I don’t see what you’re so hyped over…” muttered Amanda, grabbing her toiletries, "It's just school."

"It's a magic school!" retorted Akko. “Oh, it’s gonna be so awesome! We’re gonna learn cool spells, and we’re gonna make potions, a-and then we’re gonna fly brooms and then we’ll-!”

“AKKO!”

Akko ceased her ranting and turned to Diana as Amanda walked out of the room for the shower house.

“...While I’m pleased to see that you’re eager to start learning, we do need to be mindful of our time.”

“Oh!” went Akko in realization. “Right! Sorry! Got a little excited there!” She replied with an awkward laugh. She then grabbed her toiletries, but not before opening up her water bottle, reaching into her bag and pulling out the same pill bottle she had pulled out yesterday. Akko twisted it open, and placed a pill in her mouth and washed it down with the water.

“...Another aspirin?” said Diana as she watched Akko gulp the pill down. Akko looked back up with almost nervous eyes.

“Uh...yeah!” she replied suddenly. “Yeah! I uh, could hardly sleep last night!”

“You could have fooled me,” said Diana, “Your snoring was akin to that of a mountain troll. You must get headaches often.”

“Y-Yep!” said Akko quickly, before making her way quickly to the shower house.

Diana was left in a state of curiosity. Whatever that was Akko had taken, it wasn’t aspirin, and she knew it too. Diana thought back to yesterday and remembered how Amanda had bothered her over wanting an aspirin, and Akko mentioning something about her parents not wanting her to share her medicine.

So it was medicine? But for what purpose? Again, Akko didn’t seem like the kind of person to have a drug addiction, so maybe there was more to it?

Whatever it was, Diana put little thought to it as her two roommates walked back in after a few moments were fully changed into uniform. Akko pulled her hat down and smiled.

Transformation complete!” she shouted eagerly, “the fight is on!”

“...Um, Akko?”

Akko turned to see her two roommates who, rather than wearing their full uniforms were instead each in a simple white shirt, navy blue skirt, and matching tunic with a small bowtie.

“We only wear those uniforms for ceremonial purposes,” said Diana, “We wear these for classes…”

Akko looked to the two in their rather plain-looking uniforms, and let out a small whimper.

“...But this one looks cooler,” she muttered.

Diana rolled her eyes.

* * *

“...So you plan on tutoring Miss Kagari?”

Professor Finnelan walked through the corridors on her way to the classroom, with Professor Ursula close behind her with a stack of textbooks in hand.

“Something like that,” replied Ursula as the two walked together. “Given that she’s not of magical heritage, I imagine that she’ll need some help getting to everyone else’s level. Plus her parents called in advance about her condition.”

“Ah yes, I heard about that,” said Finnelan. “They requested that she have a counselor of sorts to discuss any issues that may come up with this, ‘condition’ of hers.”

“That would be me,” answered Ursula happily. “It won’t be easy, but I think I’ll manage.”

“Well, whatever it is you do, I expect you’ll need much patience if you’re dealing with a girl such as Atsuko.”

“No need to worry about me! I’m as-Woooahh!”

Ursula was so busy talking that she didn’t notice the tiny janitor goblin right in front of her feet, causing her to trip over. Ursula fumbled the books with her hands, before crashing to the floor, catching the eyes of everyone around her. Finnelan could only sigh in disapproval, before walking into her classroom, not even bothering to help Ursula. Ursula didn’t notice the three figures in red sashes walking down on the opposite side of the corridor.

Akko grumbled quietly as she pulled up the sleeves on her shirt.

“It’s kinda plain,” she said out loud, “but I guess it’ll be okay.”

“What I don’t get is why they gotta be so tight about the whole dress code thing.” chimed in Amanda. “If it were up to us, I’d just wear my hoodie to class every day.”

“Unlike some of us, Luna Nova has standards, be they strict or not, that must be adhered to. Now, as I was saying earlier,”

Diana straightened herself in an important manner.

“While I was hesitant about this arrangement, I’m willing to make the best of the situation. So I hope that we can look past any previous squabbles from yesterday, and move towards the future with the hope of a good friendship.”

Akko nodded and smiled in agreement. While she and Diana had a rocky start, it was time to look past that and make a new friend.

“Sure thing,” replied Amanda, raising a fist in offering to Diana, who stared at the fist in confusion.

“Well c’mon! Don’t leave me hanging here!”

“You’re supposed to hit it with your own fist,” whispered Akko, Diana nodded in realization before she raised a fist of her own, and moved into hit Amanda’s. But before she could, Amanda pulled back at the last minute, making Diana more confused.

“Too slow!” replied Amanda in a cocky voice. Akko chuckled quietly but stopped when Diana shot her a glare.

“Come on, that’s funny!” said Amanda. Diana rolled her eyes as they entered the classroom

“Let’s just get to our seats,” she muttered as the trio entered the classroom, and found their desks.

Elsewhere, a trio of students with blue sashes was preparing their own desk for class. Hannah fuming as she did so. Lotte had taken notice of this and frowned, despite seeming to be on good terms with Barbara, Hannah still seemed displeased at being on the same team as the redhead and didn’t try to hide it. Lotte would’ve felt more sad about it had she not turned to Barbara; who offered her a small, yet reassuring smile.

“Don’t fret about Hannah,” she whispered, “She’s really not all that bad once you get to know her.”

Lotte returned the smile with one of her own and turned to face the front of the class.

“Right then,” began the professor, “Welcome to Magic Linguistics. I am Professor Finnelan, and I will be your instructor for this semester.”

Akko beamed happily, she was so excited to finally start magic school she could hardly keep still as she squirmed eagerly in her seat. Diana ignored her teammate and faced the front of the room, quill in hand, ready to take down notes. Amanda meanwhile, began to let her eyes droop.

* * *

“...And so the Olde Nine Witches chose to create the Lunar alphabet so that those who sought to use their incantations for evil would not be able to translate them.”

Akko groaned internally as she drummed her fingers against the desk. Blah blah blah, did she ever stop talking? When did this lecture ever end? When did they start using magic? Finnelan then pointed to the chalkboard, where several symbols had suddenly appeared.

“This incantation was one of the first that was written. Who can tell me what it means when translated?”

No one said a word before Diana stood up out of her seat in an important fashion and answered.

“The incantation translates to the Nine’s creed: May magic-”

***Snooooore***

Diana stopped and looked around her for the source of the noise but there was none to be found. Re-adjusting herself, she turned around and continued.

“May magic-”

***Snooooore***

Diana stopped, interrupted again. She shot Akko a glare, making Akko shake her head.

“Is there a problem, Miss Cavendish?”

Diana looked back to the front to see a stern Finnelan giving her the evil eye, along with several other students now staring at her. Diana’s face went slightly red.

“M-My apologies, Ma’am!” replied Diana anxiously, “As I was saying, The incantation translates to may magic always-”

***Snooooore***

Diana then looked over angrily only to see Amanda with her eyes closed and resting her head on her textbook. Growling quietly, Diana grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently.

“Ahhh! I DIDN’T DO IT!” shouted Amanda suddenly, before her vision cleared and she faced a scowling Diana.

“Would you kindly stop with the snoring?!” She whispered, “I’m trying to answer the question!”

“...Huh?” replied Amanda, making Diana’s scowl grow bigger.

“Well then, does anyone else have the answer?”

Diana dropped Amanda and looked back forward in an almost shocked manner.

"P-Professor, I have the answer.”

“I don’t have time for your shenanigans in my classroom, Miss Cavendish.” replied Finnelan sternly, “Please take your seat.”

“B-But I know the-”

“Sit _down_ , Miss Cavendish.” interrupted Finnelan, making it clear she wasn’t going to ask again without punishment. Begrudgingly, Diana sat in her seat.

“Umm, Professor?” came a timid voice from the crowd. Finnelan pointed and a small redheaded girl stood up. Akko soon realized it was the same girl she had seen at the leyline.

“I believe the correct translation is: ‘May magic always be used for the benefit of us all until the end of time’, I think that’s also the creed of the Nine witches...”

Finnelan’s stern gaze seemed to soften at this statement.

“Correct,” she answered. “Excellent work, Miss…?”

“Oh! Jannson! Lotte Jannson, Ma’am!” replied Lotte.

“Miss Jannson,” repeated Finnelan with a soft but still firm smile. “I’ve never heard of the Jannson family before, but based on this display, I imagine you’re destined for great things here!”

Lotte blushed as she sat back down in her seat. Barbara patting her on the back while Hannah shot her a small smirk.

“Not bad, Four-eyes,” she said.

“Oh, i-it’s nothing, really,” replied Lotte quietly. “Just a little studying I did over break…”

Akko smiled, happy that Lotte seemed to be fitting in and being accepted. She didn’t notice the pout on Diana’s face after Lotte answered…

* * *

Magic history wasn't any better for the red team. This time Akko joined Amanda in her slumber; leaving Diana to try and focus on the lesson with loud snoring on either side of her. It took every ounce of her willpower to keep herself from grabbing both heads and slamming them on the desk.

She was so distracted with it that she didn't notice Sucy from the row above her pour a potion onto Akko's head. A small green plant now grew out of the brunette's hair. When Diana finally did notice it, it was too late.

* * *

In Potions class, Akko and Amanda were both awake, but for the wrong reasons. A foul-smelling green cloud billowed from an old cauldron. Professor Lukic cackled quietly as she stirred the mixture.

Diana for once, joined in with her teammates in their actions, that being pinching her nostrils shut. She picked up a blank paper and began waving the toxic vapors away from them towards the green team. Not that any of them seemed to mind. In fact, Sucy even took in the green smoke with pleasure as Constanze placed a gas mask over her face, and handed one over to Jasminka.

* * *

In numerology, Amanda ignored Professor Badcock as she read aloud in front of the textbook, instead, she had taken to mindlessly doodling on a separate piece of paper. Diana could only roll her eyes as she tried to pay attention to the lecture, but even without Amanda’s doodling, she found it hard, as Akko had been rapidly drumming her fingers against the desk ever since the class had started.

Though it wasn’t too loud, it was enough to keep Diana from focusing in Badcock’s words. After about five minutes, Diana couldn’t take it. She turned to the brunette, ready to ask her to stop before Akko got out of her seat suddenly and shot her hand.

“Professor! May I step outside for a moment please?”

Badcock looked up from her textbook and muttered quietly.

“If you have to use the lavatories, you should have done it before class, you are on my time Miss...”

She trailed off when she saw who was asking and remembered back to a particular staff conference regarding this student.

“Atsuko Kagari, I presume?” she asked, Akko nodded her head.

“I see,” replied Badcock with a sigh. “Very well, you may go. The headmistress told us you’d be permitted.”

“Thank you!” replied Akko, with a relieved smile, and with that she hopped down the stairs and to the door, leaving Diana almost in awe.

“ _How is she able to step out just like that?_ ” she wondered. “ _I thought the staff would be more strict with students on these sorts of things._ ”

“Psst! Check it out!”

Diana looked to Amanda who handed her a small piece of paper. Diana flipped it over to reveal a crudely-drawn vulture with a head that resembled the professor in the room. Diana gaped.

“How could you?!” she snapped quietly, “Do you know what will happen if she sees this?!”

“She'd flip her lid!” snickered Amanda. But Diana wouldn’t let that happen. She began to tear at the paper.

“Hey!” said Amanda, “Don’t tear that, I put a long thirty seconds into that drawing!”

“Then you can waste another thirty seconds re-drawing it in our room!” retorted Diana as the two began to play mini tug-of-war over the paper, they were so caught up they didn’t notice the commotion they were making before it was too late.

“What is going on up there?!”

Both red team members stopped at the sound of Professor Badcock’s voice. Their eyes widened in realization and the two quickly returned to their seats, the paper staying in Diana’s hands.

“Oh, i-it’s nothing, Professor!” replied Diana quickly, “We were, just, talking about notes!”

“You certainly made quite a racket for notes.” retorted Badcock, beginning to make her way up to the two. Diana gulped, as Amanda leaned back nonchalantly.

“Oh I forgot,” she muttered, “No fun allowed.”

“What was that young lady?!” scolded Badcock, making Amanda jump.

“Oh! I uh, mean, darn! Such a shame it only takes two people to ruin a good time!” she replied anxiously.

“...Indeed,” said Badcock as she squinted her eyes. She then turned to Diana and took notice of the small paper.

“What is this?” she asked out loud as she swiped the paper up before Diana had time to even respond.

“W-Wait!” she stammered out. “I-It’s not what it looks like!”

But Diana stopped herself when Badcock flipped the paper over. A flash of emotions showed upon her face, mainly anger and confusion. Diana shot Amanda a death glare. Amanda only shrugged. Badcock then spoke up.

“I’d like to speak to the two of you, _privately_ , after class,” she said behind her teeth. “Along with Miss Kagari.”

“...Yes Ma’am,” replied Diana meekly. And with that, Badcock returned to the front of the room. Once at her podium, she picked up her textbook and began to flip through it.

“Now then, let us return to page,” she continued flipping through the book, trying to find where she had left off.

“Page, page, page…”

“I think it was page 67, Professor.” came a familiar shy voice.

Badcock looked up, and then back to her book. She flipped to the page and sighed.

“Ah, there we are! Thank you very much, Miss Jasmine.”

“Um, i-it’s Janson, Ma’am,” replied Lotte quietly. But Badcock was already reading. Lotte shrank back into her seat shyly. Barbara patted her back in comfort.

Diana could only pout as she squeezed her paperweight.

“Hey guys!” replied Akko, just walking back in from the halls. “Did I miss anything?”

There was a sudden crunch as Diana released her fist, and pieces of broken paperweight fell from it, making Akko jump, and get back in her seat.

“Nevermind!” she replied meekly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

“What a ripoff!”

Akko grumbled as she sat in her seat and started on her lunch. Amanda sat across from her and poked her mashed potatoes.

“I thought those lectures would never end!” she continued. “Another second and my brain would've exploded of boredom!"

"I told you," replied Amanda, "There's really nothing too exciting here, it's just school."

"But it's magic school!" Exclaimed Akko, "We're supposed to be doing, well, magic! Not just talk about it!"

"Welcome to reality, Akko” sighed Amanda, “Have a complimentary kick in the ass.”

Akko simply pouted and began on her lunch. Today wasn’t exactly the best first day of school, this felt more like one of those assemblies she had at school that no one really cared about but had to go to anyway. At least she wasn’t alone in her boredom.

“Well...It’s only the first week,” said Akko more cheerful, “I’m sure we’ll be doing magic soon!”

“There ya go!” replied Amanda, “That’s thinkin’ positive! And who knows? Once some of the clubs startup I’m sure we can _branch_ out.” She finished with a snicker.

Akko looked puzzled.

“What do you mean branch out?” she asked. Akko still hadn’t noticed the plant that had taken the place of her ponytail; and while Amanda had, she didn’t plan on telling Akko anytime soon.

“Oh nothing,” went on Amanda, “let’s just _leaf_ the matter be.” Her snickering grew louder.

“Quit talking like that,” said Akko, “You’re not making any sense.

“Fine fine,” chuckled Amanda, “I’ll _plant_ it!”

Akko raised an eyebrow, still unaware of the subtle hints Amanda was giving her.

“Hey, look!” said Amanda suddenly, causing Akko to turn her head where Amanda had pointed. She grumbled when she saw what, or rather who she was pointing at. It was two of the girls who she had seen at the leyline the day before, one was the shy ginger-haired girl, and the other was one who knocked Akko down with her broom and teased her.

“Guess they really will let in anyone…” muttered Akko, “Even jerks like her.” Akko didn’t know what the shy girl was doing even hanging around the same person who had bullied her only a day ago.

“Ah, don’t get your panties in a wad!” reassured Amanda, “So what that she’s here? It’s not like we gotta be her personal maids or anything! Besides,” Amanda smirked, “Now that I got a better view of her, I think she cleans up pretty well.”

But before Akko could answer a loud thud came upon their table, making both her and Amanda jump. They looked over to see Diana fuming at them.

“Are, um, you alright, Diana?” asked Akko hesitantly.

Diana said nothing as she pulled out her chair and slumped down in her chair.

“I’m not talking to either of you…” she muttered as she began on her lunch.

“Huh? But why?!” asked Akko.

“You know why…” put in Diana.

“Hey if this is about those doodles, I said I was sorry.” intervened Amanda, “You’re lucky that Badcock believed me.”

“That’s beside the point!” retorted Diana. “As a member of our team, what one of us does affects all of us! It doesn’t matter who drew those pictures, now Professor Badcock thinks the three of us as nothing but scallywags!”

“Okay first off this isn’t the fifteen-hundreds, nobody says ‘scallywags’ anymore,” answered Amanda, “second, you, my blonde friend need to learn how to chillax. This is a small fish in a big pond. You can’t be everyone’s friend; I mean, seventy-five percent of the staff here are a bunch of old has-beens. Who cares what they think?”

“Haven’t you ever heard of respecting your elders?” replied Diana. Amanda simply rolled her eyes and returned to her lunch. Diana could only fume.

“And you!”

Akko jumped when Diana pointed to her.

“Is it too much to ask for you to pay attention and keep to yourself?”

Akko looked almost offended.

“Hey, I was paying attention!”

“But keeping to yourself,” retorted Diana, “that’s another story.” Akko began to look nervous.

“Well, I uh, I, I…”

Diana could only frown at the brunette’s search for an excuse, she sighed as she returned to her plate.

“How the Claimonh Solais chose _you_ of all people is beyond me…” she muttered. Akko tilted her head in confusion.

“The what?”

“The Shiny Rod.” clarified Diana. “You don’t even know it’s real name…”

Akko would've responded had they not heard a voice behind them.

"Diana!"

The blonde turned around to the familiar sight of a head of black hair, and a shy smile. Diana's expression changed to one of relief.

"Ah Barbara," she replied. "It's so nice to see you again!" She stood up and gave her a longtime friend a hug. It had been many years since the two had seen each other, Diana could still remember the playdates that their parents had set up when the two were children and when Barbara had learned that Diana was going to Luna Nova, she suggested that Diana put her name down so that the two could get put onto the same team.

That reminded Diana of something, her joyful smile transformed into a guilty frown.

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t arrive on time,” apologized Diana, “I was held back by-” Diana shot her two teammates a quick glare. “- _Unforeseen circumstances_.”

“Hey, I’m just glad you got here in one piece!” replied Barbara, “And no worries on the roommate issue, I think that our new third is pretty neat. Um, no offense…”

“None taken,” reassured Diana. “Now tell me, who was this Hannah England you wanted to introduce me to?”

“Hannah’s in line for lunch right now,” said Barbara, “but there’s someone else I want to introduce you to!” Barbara skipped over to her table and taking the hand of the shy ginger girl, who was surprised by the sudden movement. When they came back to the red team, Barbara beamed as she held the same shy girl that Diana recognized as the same girl who seemed to be favorited by much of the staff.

“This is Lotte Janson!” introduced Barbara, “Lotte, this is Diana!”

Lotte looked as if she were about to burst in nervousness, but still, she held out a shaky hand to the blonde.

“It’s um, it’s n-nice to meet you, Diana.” stammered out Lotte. “B-Barbara’s said a lot of great things about you.”

Diana gave Lotte a reassuring smile in an attempt to show her she had nothing to be afraid of and shook her hand.

“A pleasure to meet you as well, Lotte,” replied Diana. “I must say I’m impressed by your display of knowledge in class today.”

“Oh!” Lotte blushed, “I, uh, I didn’t mean to show off or anything!”

“You were only answering the questions!” chimed in Barbara, “which reminds me,” she turned to Diana. “Why didn’t you answer the question in Finnelan’s? I thought you said you’d studied the Lunar alphabet over the summer.”

Diana shot another glare to her fellow team members before turning back to her old friend.

“Well I would have given the answer, but there were some, _distractions_ that kept me at bay.”

Amanda stuck her tongue out.

“Oh, I see,” replied Barbara. “But enough about me, what about you? Who’d you get paired with for roomies?”

All three members of the red team froze. Diana didn’t know how Barbara would react to seeing a pair of hooligans like these two being her roommates. And Akko’s, along with Amanda’s memories were still fresh from their first encounter from yesterday.

Diana looked to them quickly with a questioning look. Akko shook her head while Amanda made a throat-slitting motion. The blonde then turned back to Barbara.

“Well, I would Barbara” she answered nervously. But, you see, they were...a little, _under the weather_ , so they’ve retired to our quarters for the afternoon.”

“Lotte! Barb! What are you doing? We’re sitting over…”

Hannah trailed when she took notice of Diana Cavendish, THE Diana Cavendish! But before she could greet her, her eyes looked just beyond to see two familiar faces that she didn’t expect to see after yesterday.

“You two?!”

Akko and Amanda jumped. Diana eeped quietly. Looks like there was no use hiding in anything now.

“I’d figured they’d have expelled you for that stunt you pulled last night.” went on Hannah smugly, “But I guess that Holbrooke must be tight on cash to have let the likes of you two in.”

Akko growled while Amanda put on a sly but confident grin.

“That ain’t the only thing tight around here,” replied Amanda. “By the looks of that sash, you and dumber over there have been tightening your belts. What’s the matter? Need size quadruple XL?”

Hannah was speechless, she looked upon Amanda with the fury of a tiger. Barbara meanwhile began to panic as she checked herself over. Diana’s eyes began to widen in fear. This was the last thing she needed right now.

“How rude!” spluttered Hannah.

“Hey, I tell it how I see it,” shot back Amanda, leaning back in her chair. However, she leaned back too far and fell over. Akko looked down and found the fiery-haired witch slightly dazed.

“...Tell my story, bleh” she groaned in an over-dramatic tone. Akko giggled, while Diana cringed.

“Oh grow up!” muttered Hannah, “You should really be more respectful you know, you’re in the presence of one of the most well-respected witches in the country!” She directed towards Diana. “What are you two even doing sitting next to her? She’s way too important to be seen with the likes of…”

Hannah trailed off as she took notice of the red sash tied around Diana’s waste. She looked back to Akko and Amanda, who also wore red sashes. Diana stepped in.

“Um, Barbara, this is Akko and Amanda, they’re my ***gulp*** _roommates_ …”

Hannah and Barbara went silent as they looked upon the other two red-sashed students with denial and shock. This couldn’t be real, it couldn’t! It had to be some sort of bad dream. And yet, there they were. Barbara was the first to break the silence

“Wait, aren’t you two the ones we saw at the ley-?”

“DIANA GOT PAIRED WITH YOU TWO?!!!” Hannah exclaimed loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear. Amanda cringed as she covered her ears.

“You mind?” she answered, “I just cleaned these last night.”

“But, but how?!” exclaimed Hannah, “One of the highest-ranking witch families, paired with an ingrate, and some, some commoner girl?!”

Akko shot up, starting to get a little irritated with this nickname she had earned.

“Shut up!” she shouted, “I can do magic just as well as you can!”

“Yeah right,” jeered in Barbara, “You don’t even have a broom! What makes you think you can do magic?”

“Because I! Uh... because…” Akko searched her mind for an answer. Diana knew of an answer Akko could use, but she knew that if Akko said it, it would bring certain doom.

“ _Don’t say it, Don’t say it, Don’t say it, Don’t say it…”_

“Because I...Because I have the Shiny Rod!”

She said it. Diana facepalmed.

Hannah and Barbara looked to each other and burst into laughter. Akko’s confident smile began to falter.

“W-What’s so funny?” she asked.

“Shiny Rod?” chuckled Barbara, “You mean the wand used by that hack, Shiny Chariot?”

“No wonder you’re so dumb,” chimed in Hannah, “Only a total idiot would want to be like her!”

Akko gritted her teeth as she seethed with anger. Diana sensing the oncoming trouble grabbed Akko’s shoulders before the brunette could do anything else.

“Oh Akko, you silly girl!” said Diana with feigning innocence and a fake smile, “You must excuse her, Barbara, she’s quite the prankster!”

Akko gaped, she turned to face the blonde, ready to pounce before Diana whispered in her ear.

“Don’t you dare say another word; I will **not** be embarrassed in front of my friends because of you.”

Akko was speechless. She had believed that the purpose of a team was for each member to work together, and to help each other with their problems. Yet Diana was more than ready to throw Akko under the bus if it meant she could stay on good terms with her so-called “friends.” That was the last straw for Akko as she broke free from Diana’s grasp. She directed her attention to Hannah and Barbara, still giggling.

“I’ll show you!” she shouted, “I can do magic just as well as you, better even! Meet me in the courtyard in five minutes!” And before Diana could stop her, Akko sprinted away to the red team’s dorm.

“I wonder where she’s off to in such a hurry...” asked Lotte, who had been relatively forgotten about in the whole debacle.

“Nevermind that!” replied Hannah, “let’s get to the courtyard, this should be good!” she winked to her two team members. Diana let out a nervous squeal as they left.

“ _This does not bode well…_ ”

* * *

Within five minutes, both teams were standing near the marble statue in the courtyard. Akko proudly displayed the Shiny Rod in front. Amanda folded her arms behind her head in indifference to the whole situation, while Diana could only look on anxiously. Hannah and Barbara examined the rod before them, while Lotte stood behind the two, with a mix of shyness and indifference.

“See?” said Akko importantly, “I told you.”

Hannah and Barbara stared for another few seconds before Hannah let out a small laugh.

“Nice toy.” she snickered, “When did you get it? Your fourth, or fifth birthday?”

All the confidence that was on Akko’s face immediately drained, while Diana began to look more anxious.

“T-This isn’t some toy!” said Akko in a defensive tone. “This is the same wand that Shiny Chariot, THE Shiny Chariot used in her magic shows!”

“Oh my god!” jeered in Barbara, “Just when I think you say the lamest stuff, you say something else!” She turned to the blonde. “Geez, Diana, do I feel sorry for you!”

Diana looked to the ground without saying anything. While Barbara’s insults weren’t directed towards her, she still felt a little hurt from them. By being associated with Akko, any jokes that were made about her would be made to the other members of the red team, and therefore Diana. Well, at least this was only one incident. There was no way it could get any worse from here.

“Oh yeah? Well, let’s see you laugh when I cast a spell on this statue!”

Diana’s heart skipped a beat. Akko? Cast a spell? She hadn’t even used her school-issued wand yet! What made her think she could cast a spell with the Shiny Rod? Granted she knew one of the seven words already, but there was no guarantee that she knew anymore.

“Um, Akko?” asked Diana. “Why don’t we just head back to our dorm? We can do this some other time.”

“Just a second, Diana.” replied the brunette, “I’ve got a point to prove! I’ll show these two just what I can do! It shouldn’t take long!”

Diana stammered for words but couldn’t find any as Akko stepped directly in front of the statue. Hannah and Barbara looked on with matching smirks.

Akko stood still for a moment. Despite her apparent confidence, she was nervous deep inside. Other than Shiny Ark, she hadn’t done any other magic at Luna Nova. Yet here she was, claiming that she could move a statue with ease. She didn’t know the first thing about animation spells!

“ _But, I have the Shiny Rod_ ,” she thought, “ _That should make this much easier! Besides how hard can it really be_?”

With newfound confidence, Akko held out the Shiny Rod and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath before raising the wand above her and pointing it towards the statue and shouting:

“MOVE, STONE STATUE!”

Akko remained still for a few seconds, before opening her eyes to find that statue remained still, not moving an inch. Akko blinked in confusion. She put on an angry face and raised the Shiny Rod once more.

“I COMMAND YOU TO MOVE, STONE STATUE!” She repeated, but still, nothing happened. Hannah and Barbara began to laugh again.

“Um, I don’t think I’m familiar with that spell, Akko.” spoke up Lotte.

“Wow,” chuckled Hannah, “You sure showed us; showed us what a moron you are!”

This time the laughter was louder, as many of the other students in the courtyard who had begun to take notice of what was going on. Akko gritted her teeth and swung the rod in the air.

“Come on, you stupid statue, move already!” she whined.

“What kinda spell is that?” came a voice from the crowd, “a tantrum spell?”

That was all Diana could take, she stomped up to Akko and grabbed the rod.

“That’s it,” she said angrily, “You’ve taken this way too far!”

“Let go!” fussed Akko, “I can do it! Just let me try again!”

“I will not let my reputation be tarnished because of some overeager child!” retorted Diana, “Now give me that rod!”

Akko and Diana were so busy fighting, they didn’t notice a small green glow come from the Shiny Rod and make it’s way to the statue.

“Let go, already!”

“I know I can do it!”

“No, you can’t!”

“Yes, I can!”

“AKKO, DIANA, LOOK OUT!” shouted Lotte.

The two looked up in confusion before both looked over to see the statue suddenly begin to move towards them. Akko jumped in surprise, knocking herself and Diana to the ground. The statue then raised one of its hands up over the two before bringing it down with the speed of a cheetah. Akko and Diana could only shriek in fear as the hand came closer and closer…

“ _Sulje silmäsi vanha maa,_ ”

“ _Kun valkoiset terälehdet putoavat taivaalta,_ ”

“ _Helposti äidin napayön katseeseen_ ,”

“ _Nukahtaa,_ ”

 _“Nukahtaa..._ ”

The stone hand stopped immediately, Akko and Diana looked up in confusion. It stopped? But why? The singing? But who was singing? They looked over to see a small ginger-haired girl reciting words by memory in her native tongue. Suddenly, the statue began to glow neon green as a figure with two small eyes emerged from the head of the statue. Everyone gasped in amazement.

The figure looked from side-to-side before facing Lotte, who rather than cowering in fear as any of the other students in her position would, she looked up at the figure with a welcoming smile before beginning to speak.

“You have nothing to be afraid of,” spoke Lotte kindly. “These two mean you no harm, I’m positive they won’t bother you again.”

The figure turned to Akko and Diana and gave them a judging look. The two dared not to say a word to it, as they had no idea what it would do. Finally, it looked back to Lotte and gave her a reassuring nod. Then it returned to the statue and disappeared.

A million thoughts were racing through both Akko’s and Diana’s heads. Akko was bewildered to what she had just witnessed, while Diana had reached peak levels of anxiety, she could only imagine how others would treat her after seeing what had just happened.

“...Are you alright?”

The two looked over to see Lotte offering a hand up. Diana looked upon the gingered girl in an almost state of awe.

“H-How did, How did you-?”

“LOTTE!”

Lotte looked over as Barbara and Hannah sprinted to her at max speed. Barbara pulled her into a tight hug as soon as she arrived.

“That was amazing!” she complimented. “The way you told off that thing! And your voice! You never said you could sing!”

Lotte blushed in an instant.

“I-It was nothing, honestly!” she replied, “My family can communicate with faeries, that’s just the song we sing in order to do so…”

“Nothing?” chimed in Hannah, “Lotte, you just saved a Cavendish! (Diana began to blush herself) One of the most well-respected magic clans in the history of magic! Could you imagine what that makes you?!”

Some of the other students began to chime in as well, each one congratulating Lotte on warding off the spirit and making the shy little witch brighter than the hottest of fires.

“P-Please! You’re all too kind!” She stammered out, “I’m just a normal student like the rest of you! I’m no one special!”

“Miss Janson, please, There’s no need to flatter yourself.”

Everyone immediately went quiet at the sound of this well-known voice. They all turned to the main entrance of the courtyard to see an extremely-short, elderly woman with graying blonde hair and small glasses making her way to Lotte with a smile upon her face.

“Professor Holbrooke!” gasped Diana.

“Who?” questioned Akko.

“The headmistress!” snapped Diana, “Quickly, get off of me! Stand up straight!”

Akko eeped and shot up immediately, sweat trickling down her neck as the headmistress got closer to them. She could only imagine the trouble she would be in for this, and with the headmistress of all people!

However, Holbrooke stopped in front of Lotte and seemed to pay no mind to Diana or Akko. The two gave each other questioning glances. Finally, Holbrooke spoke up.

“An excellent display, Miss Janson.” complimented Holbrooke. “And I don’t just mean out here. I’ve heard nothing but good things from your instructors.”

“Well, I...strive to please,” answered Lotte nervously. Holbrooke went on.

“My dear, you have potential here at Luna Nova,” she said. “And we’d like to help you be all that you can and more.” Holbrooke pulled out her wand and made a small illusion of a rather fancy-looking bedroom

“There is a student dormitory different from others,” explained Holbrooke. “It has three single beds, a bookshelf much larger than the standard dorm version, a work table, and it’s own private washroom, separate from the shower houses.”

Hannah and Barbara’s eyes sparkled in awe, while Lotte could only gasp quietly.

“We only offer this room to our top students, Miss Janson.” finished Holbrooke, “And given what you’ve shown us today, I have a strong feeling that you’ll be needing it. That is, of course, if you and your teammates are willing to make the room change…”

Lotte glanced over to Hannah and Barbara, who nodded eagerly. Satisfied with the answer, Lotte turned back to Holbrooke.

“I think we’ll take it, Professor,” she replied kindly.

“Splendid!” said Holbrooke. “I’ll have the work faeries assist you in moving later. In the meantime, there’s something that we require your assistance with, specifically that little tune you sing to the faeries.”

“Oh, of course!” confirmed Lotte, “I’ll be more than happy to help!”

“Excellent,” replied the headmistress, “Come then, we’ll make our way over there now!”

And with that, Lotte and Holbrooke began to leave the courtyard, with Hannah and Barbara close behind.

If Diana wasn’t speechless before, she was now. She remembered hearing about that special room for top students, she had made it one of her top goals for the first semester to try and make that room hers, but now it had just been plucked right from her, as Akko had done with the Shiny Rod. But there was no use in fighting over this like the Shiny Rod, but maybe, rather than making war…

“Excuse me!” shouted Diana, beginning to follow Holbrooke, “Lotte, wait! I believe I can be of assistance to you!”

“I can help too!”

Akko began to follow Diana, eager to lend a helping hand in the problem, whatever it was. But before should continue running, Diana turned back to her with a face of pure disapproval, making the brunette stop in her tracks.

“You’ve done enough already,” answered Diana coldly. “Let the _real_ witches handle this matter.”

Akko felt a small pain in her heart at this statement.

“But…” she began, “I can hel-”

“You can’t even pay attention, let alone do a proper animation spell!” interrupted Diana, “What makes you think you can help out with this?”

Akko looked down quietly as her lips trembled. Diana’s gaze softened as she took notice of this.

“...Just,” Diana sighed, “Just stay out of my way…” and with that, Diana went back to following Lotte, and leaving Akko with a lot on her mind.

* * *

"...And that's why Will Nicks was the greatest stand-up who ever lived." Finished Amanda, "The guy was a legend, it didn't matter what people thought, he said what he wanted to and did what he wanted to." She sighed happily "He's like the uncle I never knew I wanted…"

Akko mumbled out a reply. It had been twenty minutes since the whole statue fiasco, and she hadn't cracked a smile since. She kept thinking about what Diana had said, about her "staying out of the way".

Akko had heard talk like this before, in her old school from some of her peers, or on the very rare occasion one of her family members. Although they understood and were quick to apologize for what they had said. Akko tried to ignore comments such as these, but they would still get under her skin at times.

"Hey check it!" went on Amanda, pointing to a certain student who had especially shiny hair. "She put so much hair oil in her locks that an oil company wrote an apology letter! Am I right?!" Amanda laughed at her own joke but stopped when she noticed Akko not laughing with her.

"Y’know you being all gloom and doom really takes the fun out of all this," said Amanda, "and this isn’t even my A material!"

"... Sorry." Murmured Akko.

"Look if you're still peeved over the statue bull, I already told you, everyone’s probably gonna forget about it in a day, people do stupid stuff all the time! I guarantee that someone’s gonna do something stupider in the next week; like let a minotaur loose from the dungeons, or awaken some kinda ancient spirit in Blytonbury or…”

Amanda was interrupted by the sound of Akko sighing and looking down somberly. Looks like it wasn’t just the statue thing that was bothering her. Amanda wasn’t the best at the whole “comfort” thing, but if she didn’t do anything soon, Akko would turn into the edgiest of all edgelords.

Rolling her eyes, Amanda raised an arm and put it around Akko’s shoulder, making the brunette look up.

“Alright,” sighed Amanda reluctantly, “What’s the matter?”

“Do you think I’m weird?”

Amanda blinked.

“Huh?” she questioned, “What do you mean?”

Akko gulped as her foot began to tap the ground rapidly.

“It’s just,” she began, “Back home, I was always a bit... _different_ , from some of the other kids my age. My family understood, and they didn’t really care about my... _differences_ , but whenever I went to school, I had friends there, don’t get me wrong, but…” Akko paused, letting out a small sniff. “...but not everyone was as understanding of my situation as my friends and family. Most of the time, people would either ignore me, or give me odd looks in the halls and class, but…” Akko paused once more, stopping her tapping foot with her hand. “Sometimes they, they called me names…”

Amanda’s look softened at this last mention of namecalling.

“After I first saw Shiny Chariot’s magic show though, things got better for me. I got a lot happier than I used to. I wanted nothing more in life than to be just like her; because she taught me that as long as I had a believing heart, that was all the magic I needed.”

Akko showed a small smile, remembering her childhood memories of opening a new pack of Chariot trading cards, playing pretend Chariot with her sister and brothers, trying to fly a broom on her, and failing at it, and getting laughed at by a group of boys...

Akko cringed as she now remembered a similar incident in first grade when what felt like almost the entire class pointed and laughed at her and called her... _that_ word.

“I didn’t really care about what anyone thought about me then…” she went on, “But, some of the stuff that they said still stick with me today.” She turned back to Amanda. “I thought things would be different here, but, it’s about the same. Is it because I’m weird?”

Amanda pondered for a moment.

“Hmm…” she said out loud, “...Yep, you’re weird.”

Akko let out a sad mumble. Looks like things weren’t really all that different here after all…

“But that’s okay.”

Akko looked up, puzzled.

“W-What?”

“It’s okay to be weird, ya goof,” explained Amanda with a reassuring smile. “Everyone’s weird in their own way. Like me, when I first told you about Will Nicks, did you think I was kinda weird? Be honest.”

Akko wanted to deny it, but she had to admit, that Amanda’s taste in comedy was quite different than her own.

“A... A little bit, I guess,” she admitted reluctantly.

“My point exactly,” went on Amanda, “Everyone likes, or does different things that are weird to some, and that’s what makes us, well us!” Amanda laughed. “But hey, that’s just fine. If people wanna be weird, let them be weird, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else that is. It’s the people who put you down for being weird who’re the problem, if they can’t accept you for who you are, then I say screw ‘em! They’re not good enough to be your friend if they’re not ready to accept you.”

Akko began to feel her smile return to her face.

“You’re weird, Akko, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But hey, if anyone gives you crap for it,” Amanda raised two fists. “Let me know, and I’ll introduce ‘em to Brutus and Gladys here.”

Akko felt happy once more. It didn’t matter what anyone thought of her, she was who she was, and she was happy to be so. Akko also felt lucky to have Amanda on her team, so far she seemed to be the only one who really understood her.

“T-Thanks…” she murmured quietly as unshed tears formed right behind her eyelids

Amanda took notice of this and sighed reluctantly, only this time with a more appreciative smile.

“C’mon,” she said, holding her arms out, “Bring it in, Dorko.”

Akko went to Amanda’s arms as the two embraced each other. Akko was truly happy for the first time all day, she had someone she could talk to, someone who cared for her, someone who accepted her.

Someone who was a friend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

“Miss Cavendish really, there’s no need for your assistance in this matter,” said Finnelan as she led the group to the campus greenhouse. Diana had followed along with the blue team and Holbrooke after the incident in the courtyard, seemingly to make up for the first impression she had given to each of the staff. The blonde looked back to Finnelan with a confident smile.

"I insist on providing aid, Professor," she replied, "After all, it's the least I could do for Lotte after she saved me from the statue."

Finnelan scoffed quietly at this statement, she looked over to Lotte.

"While your intentions are noble Miss Cavendish, I'm fairly certain that Miss Jansson is more than capable of handling the situation."

"It's alright Professor, I don't mind." chimed in Lotte. "I’m sure we could use an extra set of hands."

Finnelan looked back to the blonde, who was now smiling at Lotte’s response, and only rolled her eyes as the group continued to walk.

“Thanks for tagging along,” Lotte said to the blonde, “I know I’ve been doing well in classes, but I only know so much.”

“Oh it’s nothing,” reassured Diana, “again, I’m hoping I can repay your kindness for saving Atsuko and myself earlier.”

“Well I’m glad you feel that way,” smiled Lotte, “I just hope that whatever it is Holbrooke needs won’t be too challenging.”

“It shouldn’t be anything you of all people can’t handle, Lotte.” complimented Diana, “You know, it’s a shame you and I weren’t placed on the same team; I’m almost positive we would’ve made a great duo.”

“Without a doubt,” agreed Lotte, “but I’m sure that you’re gonna be great with the ones you’re paired with.”

Diana’s smile faltered at the reminder of her current team situation.

“Yes, well,” she muttered. “I think we’ll have to wait and see about that.”

Lotte took notice of Diana’s change in tone.

“Oh, are you and your other team members not getting along?” she asked.

“Hmm, that’s certainly an understatement” replied Diana. “Amanda’s a slob with no respect for authority, but an excess of recklessness. I don’t even think she has a hamper for her laundry. And Akko…” Diana sighed as she pinched her nostrils, “It’s as if I’m babysitting a toddler; if she’s not paying attention in class, then she’s always making some sort of noise or fuss over something…” Diana turned back to Lotte.

“It’s just...it’s just not what I thought it would be…”

“I understand,” replied Lotte, “I kinda felt the same way about my team, too.”

Diana looked puzzled.

“Really?” she asked. “But, you three seem to be such good friends.”

“Well, it certainly wasn’t that way when we first met,” explained Lotte, looking down. “That was at the Blytnonbury leyline terminal, and they weren’t exactly the nicest to me, so I wasn’t exactly thrilled when I got paired with the both of them for my team.” Lotte then looked back to her teammates and smiled.

“But, after we got to know each other a little bit, things started working out. Me and Barbara both like Night-err...a lot of the same books, and Hannah’s a lot nicer than I first thought.” Lotte then turned back to Diana.

“Your teammates may not exactly be what you hoped for, but maybe you should give them another chance, I’m sure if you do that, then things might be better than you first thought.”

Come to think of it, despite their apparent tendencies, both Akko and Amanda seemed to be kind, a little careless, yes, but kind nonetheless. If anything, Diana was the one who seemed to be behaving immaturely due to her frustration with the two of them. She thought back to how she had told off Akko for trying to follow them, how sad the brunette had looked, Diana couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt when she saw that face.

“Ah, here we are!”

Diana looked back up to find that their group had entered the campus greenhouse, which held all sorts of exotic flowers and vegetables; and in the center of it all stood a tall and aging tree dedicated to the great witch Jennifer. The tree looked so old, its fading bark almost seemed to form a face.

“As you can see,” informed Finnelan, “The Jennifer memorial tree is showing its age, we fear that unless the proper action is taken, it will be lost to us forever.” She turned back to Lotte

“Miss Jansson, if there is anything that you could do to help heal the tree, it would be very much appreciated.”

“I’ll uh, I’ll see what we can do,” replied Lotte with a nervous smile.

“Excellent!” chimed in Holbrooke, making her way to the door. “Now then, come along Anne.”

“W-Wait!” stammered Lotte, “You’re just leaving?”

“Oh we’d love to stay Miss Jansson, but there is a small errand we have to run.”

“B-But, but…”

“I’m sure you’ll manage!” smiled Holbrooke, “Just send someone to my office once you’re done!” and with that, Holbrooke and Finnelan left the room, leaving behind an anxious Lotte.

“Hmmm…” pondered Diana out loud, “I’ve seen dead trees before, but trees enchanted with magic usually have their lifespan tripled that of the oldest redwoods.”

“Every other plant here looks fine!” called out Hannah, inspecting the bluebells.

“Well…” spoke up Lotte, “Why don’t I consult the tree’s spirit? I’m sure that it can give us some input on-”

“Just a second Lotte,” interrupted Diana, still inspecting the tree. “Hmmm, hmmm, yes, I think that should work.”

“Think what will work?” asked Lotte, but Diana ignored the redhead and instead turned to Hannah and Barbara.

“If you two would be so kind as to gather some stones please?” she instructed the two, “And once you have them, form a circle around the tree.”

Both nodded in unison and began searching the greenhouse for any stones they could find.

“Um...Diana?” asked Lotte again, “Can I ask what exactly it is you’re doing?”

“I’m going to use a healing circle to rejuvenate the tree.” explained Diana, “Once all the stones are in place, we should be able to have everything taken care of.”

“Are you sure that’s what the issue is?” questioned Lotte, “Let me talk to the spirit and we’ll-”

“I don’t think that will be necessary Lotte,” replied Diana. “Once everything is in place, I’ll have this tree looking as if it were just grown!”

“Really, it shouldn’t take that long to-”

“That will _not_ be necessary, Lotte” repeated Diana in a more annoyed tone, making the shy witch almost shrink down in fear.

“...A-Alright then, Diana.” murmured Lotte.

Diana nodded in confirmation just as Hannah and Barbara finished making their stone circle around the tree. Diana smiled at this. Finally, after an entire day of mediocre performance in classes and various shenanigans she would be able to prove her worth to the professors, showing that she was more than just some ingrate like her roommates.

“ _Now to demonstrate what a Cavendish is truly capable of!_ ” She told herself.

Raising her wand, Diana remembered back to the words of a healing spell she had learned over the summer. All she had to do was recite it, and soon she would earn back the respect of all the staff!

“ _Gelácne bulentse!_ ” she exclaimed, causing a burst of magical energy to come from her wand, and spread itself around the tree. Everyone stood still, awaiting to see what would come of Diana’s spell. Lotte looked particularly nervous.

It took a few moments, but with a bright glow came green leaves bursting to life across the branches of the tree, which began to take on a more lively shade of brown.

“You did it!” exclaimed Barbara. “It’s like it was just planted!”

“Come on,” Hannah told her friend, “Let’s go get the professors!”

Diana smiled as the two blue teammates headed in the direction that the professors had gone earlier. She then turned to Lotte.

“You see, Lotte? A simple rejuvenation spell was all that we needed.”

“I suppose you’re right.” agreed Lotte quietly, “But I still think I should consult the tree’s spirit to be sure that everything’s alright.”

“Oh it should be fine,” replied Diana, “That spell is among the most powerful in…”

Diana trailed off as she took notice of the tree slowly began to revert back to its previous barren color, completely undoing the spell she had just cast. She gave a blank stare.

“Odd,” she thought out loud, “That spell always worked on the trees at home…”

“Why don’t I talk to the spirit?” chimed in Lotte, “Maybe they can tell us what-”

“I can handle this, Lotte.” interrupted Diana. “...Perhaps I made a slight error, no bother, I’ll just re-cast the spell.” Raising her wand once more, Diana repeated the same spell as before:

“ _Gelácne bulentse!_ ”

Magic energy burst from Diana’s wand once more, as the tree began to spring to life as it did with Diana’s previous spell. Smiling, Diana prepared to reply to whatever comment Lotte would give her, yet the life from the tree faded away almost as soon as it had appeared.

Diana’s eyebrows furrowed. This spell usually worked, why wasn’t it now? How was she expected to make a good impression on the staff if she couldn’t even perform healing magic, one of the most well-known trademarks of the Cavendish clan?

Diana didn’t notice Lotte stepping forward and placing her hand on the trunk of the tree, humming her faerie melody as she did so. Lotte listened for the spirit, trying to see what was causing it to reject Diana’s healing spell. She listened for a few moments before her eyes widened in realization. It wasn’t that the tree was rejecting the magic, but rather the magic was being taken away by something! Lotte turned frantically to the blonde.

“Diana, wait! Don’t cast another-”

“ _Gelácne bulentse!_ ”

Lotte was too late as the spell connected with the tree, and the same thing occurred. Tree’s power was rejuvenated, before slowly fading away. Diana was beginning to get angry.

“Come on you stupid tree!” she growled. “I’m trying to heal you, so take these nutrients already!”

“Wait, Diana! It’s not the tree’s-!”

“ _GELÁCNE-_ Woahhh!!!”

Diana stopped as the ground beneath them began to shake, making the blonde drop her wand.

“What’s happening?!” she shouted.

It’s your healing spell!” Lotte shouted back. “It’s not that it wasn’t going to the tree! Something else was absorbing it!”

Diana then came into realization. One of the leading causes of trees dying were parasites which would steal away any nutrients that their host had. So one could only imagine what would happen if a tree be charged with magic nutrients would then be directly taken to…

Just as Diana finished her thought, there was the sound of something, or things bursting from the ground, knocking the two witches down. When the air cleared, they looked up to see what appeared to be a dozen or so, white parasites all around them, each brimming with energy. Diana now knew her mistake.

“I just gave a parasite enough power to wipe out an entire forest!”

* * *

"So...how do energy cards work again?"

Amanda could only look at her cards in confusion, her mind drawn to a complete blank. After her little pep talk with her teammate, Akko took the liberty of getting her set of Shiny Chariot cards for the both of them to play a quick round. Not wanting to sour Akko’s mood after just cheering her up, Amanda hastilily agreed to do a game. Although she was beginning to think it would’ve been better if she had she declined the offer as Akko let out another irritable groan.

“I told you, you use energy cards to make your Chariot cards do an action. See that number in the top right of the card? That’s how many energy cards you need to perform an action, like attacks, or spells, or healing.”

“Okay…” replied Amanda as she reached for a blue energy card, and placed it next to one of the green Chariot cards. “So, if I wanted to attack you with this card, I would just use three of these-”

“No,no,no!” fussed Akko, “You can’t use that energy card for that one!”

“But you just said-”

“You have to use a GREEN energy card for a GREEN Chariot card! Come on, Amanda! I thought you were a Chariot fan!”

“I said I didn’t hate her,” clarified Amanda. “There’s a difference between hating something and not being interested in it.” She looked back to her cards. “I don’t even know what half of these cards are supposed to be…”

Akko ignored Amanda’s comments and proceeded to shuffle her main deck before drawing one particular card and smiling. She then set the card down face up, indicating she was going to use it for her next turn. Amanda caught a quick glance.

“What’s that one? Some kinda butterfly?”

“This one?” Akko held out the card. “This is the Pappiliodya! It’s one of the more rare cards.”

“I meant more the butterfly.” corrected Amanda.

“Oh!” replied Akko. “Them? I think they’re some kinda magical creature.” Akko looked over her card’s description.

“According to this, they begin life as a chrysalis, and attach themselves to plants in order to get the nutrients they need. They only hatch every one-hundred twenty years, and when they do, it’s said that anyone who sees them spreading their wings to the sky will be blessed with joy and happiness!”

“Huh,” replied Amanda, “neat.”

“And it gives each of your team members plus ten strength!”

“Ehh…” Amanda gave a blank stare.

“I think I might just do that!” continued Akko, getting ready to place down her card. “I just need to put in four blue energy-”

But before Akko could finish her turn, the ground beneath them shook violently followed by something bursting from the ground, knocking her and Amanda down and sending the cards flying.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?!” shouted Amanda, “You tryin’ to get us killed or-Huh?”

Amanda stopped when she noticed that it wasn’t someone who had knocked them down, but rather, a giant root that seemed to come from nowhere. Akko stood up now, and got a clear look at the root as well before her eyes widened.

“Oh no!” she exclaimed. “We can’t continue like this! It’ll be impossible to set back up!”

“...Oh thank god.” muttered Amanda quietly, before looking out across the fields and seeing that the sudden appearance of the roots had caught several others off-guard, and making them panic.

“Looks like we’re not the only one with gardening problems.” she commented. Akko looked out as well, before taking notice of something else.

“Look! I think they’re coming from that one building over there!” she pointed over to a building that seemed to be made entirely out of glass.

“That’s the greenhouse!” confirmed Amanda. “Come on, let’s check it out!”

And with that they began to run towards the building without a second thought, not before Akko gathered up the Shiny Rod and her Chariot cards though.

* * *

Back in the greenhouse, Diana's thoughts swarmed around her brain like bees in their hive. All around her more and more of the supposed parasites were popping out of the ground, and if she didn’t do anything soon, they would do worse than kill the Jennifer tree.

“Diana!” yelled Lotte, “We have to do something!”

“Oh really?!” replied Diana with a hint of sarcasm. “And I thought we were doing a fine enough job already!”

“I’ll go get the professors! They’ll know what to-!”

“NO!” snapped Diana. “We don’t need them. I’m a Cavendish! I know what to do!”

“Then what do we do?!” yelped Lotte as a group of parasites bursted up right in front of her.

Diana would have replied, but she didn’t have anything to say. She didn’t really have a plan, but the last thing she needed was to let the professors see what she had done. She had already failed at making first impressions earlier and if they saw this? Any hope at improving these relationships would be lost forever.

“ _Come on, think!_ ” Diana told herself. “ _You’re a Cavendish! Start acting like it!_ ” Diana then noticed she still had her wand in hand, and thought back to yesterday when her and Akko were trapped in the vine cage.

“Well, when all else fails, you can always rely on brute force!”

Diana then pointed her wand at the spore closest to her and shouted:

“ _Murowa!_ ”

A bolt of energy burst from her wand, and struck the parasite, causing it to appear as if it had died. Seemingly satisfied with the result, Diana turned to another one and did the same. Lotte jumped at this.

“Are you sure this is the right thing to-”

“SHUT UP, LOTTE!” snapped Diana, in an angrier tone than before. “I WILL set this right! I WILL impress the teachers! And I WILL show what a Cavendish can do!!!”

“Diana!”

Diana looked over and growled when she saw Akko and Amanda sprint into the building.

“ _Just what I needed!_ ”

“Yo, Princess!” shouted Amanda. “What the hell did you do?!”

“Stand back!” retorted Diana. “Everything’s under control!”

“Jeez, alright little miss pushy!” replied Amanda. Akko meanwhile had turned to Lotte for an explanation.

“Lotte, what happened?”

“I’m...I’m not sure,” Answered Lotte, “Diana cast a healing spell on the tree, and based on what the spirit told me, the nutrients were absorbed by these things here!”

Akko and Amanda looked to one of the parasites, before a blast from Diana’s wand struck it, causing said spore to wither slightly.

“Rage much?” shouted Amanda, but Diana ignored her and continued blasting as many of the parasites as she could.

“Y’know, I may not know much about magic,” put in Akko, poking one of the parasites. “But I could have sworn I’ve seen these before.”

“You have?” asked Amanda and Lotte at the same time.

“I think so,” replied Akko, “but I don’t remember where-wait!”

The brunette then began to flip through her collection of Chariot cards before finding the one she was looking for, and gasping.

“So they are!”

“They’re what?” asked Amanda.

But Akko didn’t answer as she gripped the Shiny Rod tightly and sprinted towards Diana, growing more frustrated that her efforts appeared to have little effect on the situation. She was ready to blast another parasite, but Akko jumped in front of her just before she could recite the spell.

“Move, Akko!” Diana shouted, “I have a job to do!”

“You have to stop, Diana!” shouted Akko back, “Just let these things run their course!”

“Are you SERIOUS?!” retorted Diana, “If we don’t stop them now, they’ll destroy the whole garden!”

“Just trust me!” retorted Akko, “It’s the only way!”

“How would YOU know?!” snapped Diana. “You couldn’t even pay attention in class!”

“Would you just listen to me?!” yelled Akko in an angrier tone, “I know I haven’t been the best I can be today, but you have to trust me when I say I know what we need to do here!”

But Diana just growled as she changed targets from one parasite to another, and prepared to strike it. Akko ran as fast as her legs could carry her to where Diana was pointing, and jumped in between Diana and the parasite just as Diana cast the spell.

There was a loud bang in the greenhouse before a small thud. Diana’s face of anger immediately changed to one of shock when she saw what, or _who_ her spell had hit.

“AKKO!”

Lotte and Amanda ran to the two, Lotte kneeling to Akko’s level, making sure the brunette was alright, and Amanda grabbing Diana by the collar.

“That’s it!” She growled. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t tear you a new one, right here!”

Diana couldn’t reply, she was still shocked from her action. She hadn’t intended for the blast to hit Akko, but if Diana hadn’t been so headstrong, then none of this would have happened. Diana didn’t care about any sort of reputation she was trying to save now, not while one of her teammates was hurt.

“...Puh...Pa…” muttered Akko quietly.

“Shhh! Don’t talk now.” replied Lotte, “Let’s get you to the infirmary!”

“Papa…” muttered Akko again.

“Papa?” chimed in Amanda, “What are you saying?”

“Pappi...Pappiliodya.” muttered Akko once more, moving her arm to reveal the Shiny Rod, and a Chariot card of what seemed to be a butterfly emerging from a very familiar looking cocoon. Diana gasped.

“...These aren’t parasites,” she said, “They’re cocoons! Cocoons for the Pappiliodya!”

Helping Akko up as quickly as they could, Diana and Amanda helped Akko hold the Rod in place as Akko began to utter out a more clear spell.

“ _Papillio...Fillio... Nymphodya_!” she exclaimed, as one of the orbs on the rod glowed bright before releasing magical energy across the cocoons.

The cocoons then began to swell, getting bigger and bigger before bursting open with a blinding light, causing everyone to cover their eyes. Once the light stopped however, Lotte was the first to let out a gasp of awe.

Before each of the students were several of the most beautiful butterflies any of them had ever seen. It was as if several angels had been in hibernation for years, and had just awoke, ready to return to heaven.

Soon, they began to flap their wings, and headed for an opening in one of the windows, out to the rest of Luna Nova. A smile of awe was upon each of the witch’s faces as they did so. Akko’s eyes began to droop as she watched the last of them leave.

“...Pretty…” she muttered before her eyes shut all the way, and she let out an inaudible mumble.

“Akko!” shouted Diana, as she caught Akko before she could hit the ground. Diana then turned to Amanda, ready to give orders before the sound of voices came from one of the entrances.

“We need to go.” said Amanda, putting the unconscious Akko’s arm around her shoulder with Diana doing the same and moving to the nearest exit as quickly as they could. Lotte could only watch as the trio left her with a garden with a tree, slowly regaining it’s life.

“Excellent work, Miss Jansson!”

“Huh?” Lotte turned her head to see Hannah, Barbara, and many of the processors entering the garden with smiles.

“I’ll admit,” said Holbrooke, “I was a little worried when I saw all those roots pop up around my campus, but by the looks of things, you were able to solve the problem and even helped the Pappiliodya to hatch!”

“What?-Oh no!” stammered out Lotte with another nervous smile. “I’m not the one you should be thanking! It’s really-”

“I wasn’t joking when I said there was no need to flatter yourself.” interrupted Holbrooke. “It’s not a bad thing to take pride in your work.” She turned to the door. “Now come, I believe we can still catch some of the Pappiliodya in the courtyard!”

“B-But-”

“Enough with that wallflower attitude!” interrupted Hannah, grabbing Lotte’s arm. “Come on, Roomie! Everyone’s talking about you!”

Lotte tried to resist, but she couldn’t help being dragged by Hannah’s grasp. She looked over to Barbara who gave her a friendly smile. Lotte could only return it hesitantly as she looked over to the exit that the red team had taken.

“ _Thanks, guys._ ” she said to herself. “ _I hope Akko isn’t too hurt…_ ”

* * *

Akko muttered to herself as her ears caught the sound of voices.

“...ook, she’s waking up!”

“You’d better not tell her that.”

“No promises, Princess.”

Akko’s eyelids began to open slightly, adjusting to the brightness around her before recognizing the smirking face of a certain fiery-haired thief.

“Mornin’ Sunshine.” Amanda greeted in a slight sly tone.

“Amanda?” asked Akko, “What happened-ughhh.” Akko suddenly put her hand to her forehead as the slight pain she felt. “How long was I out for?” she muttered.

“Oh...about two-thousand years.” replied Amanda with a slight snicker.

“WHAT?!”

Diana cringed at Akko’s loud voice as she got up from her desk.

“I thought I told you not to tell her that.”

“Hey, I didn't think she’d actually believe me!” retorted Amanda.

Diana rolled her eyes and made her way over to the bottom bunk.

“You’ve been unconscious for roughly an hour now.” answered Diana. “I had to use some of my healing magic to patch up your injuries.”

“Oh.” replied Akko. Just then, a familiar electronic beeping caught her ear. She turned to her wrist watch and her eyes widened.

“Crap!” she exclaimed. “I was supposed to take my meds twenty minutes ago!”

Hopping off of the bed, she ran to her toiletry bag and pulled out the same pill bottle as before, uncapping it, taking one of the pills out before placing it in her mouth and washing it down with water from her bottle. Afterwards, she sighed in relief.

“So you DO take medication.”

Akko turned to face her teammates, looking at her with questioning eyes. Akko gulped.

“I…” she began, “I just didn’t want you guys to make a big deal about it.”

“You know, if you had just told us you take medication from the beginning, we could’ve gotten you up to take it at the proper time.”

“...Yeah, I guess.” muttered Akko, looking away as her face flushed.

Diana sighed as she rolled her eyes.

“Well, the first day of class could have gone better than expected.” she went on. “No thanks to you two.”

Amanda muttered to herself as Akko looked to the floor.

“What with your complete disregard for authority, your tendencies to distract the class, or feeling of needing to show off. You both make it quite difficult to be teammates with.”

Both Akko and Amanda looked away from the blonde. As much as neither wanted to admit it, Diana was right. Both were reckless, and didn’t seem to follow all the rules. It was a good thing room change requests almost never went through. Otherwise, Diana would have done so by now.

“But I’m no better.”

Both looked back up in confusion, before turning to Diana as she continued.

“Before coming to Luna Nova, I was determined to make a name for myself, for my family. I was so worried about my reputation, I cared little for my own teammate's feelings. I had hoped that assisting the situation in the garden would help further that. But instead, it only proved that I’m not quite as capable as I once thought.” Diana looked out the window. “Had you two not arrived when you did, I fear I would’ve made a terrible mistake. Apart from the one I actually made with you, Akko.” Diana then turned to her teammates with a sad smile.

“I know I haven’t been the best teammate to you two, and I’m sorry for everything I did and said to you both. I don’t suppose you could forgive this miserable excuse for a Caven-?”

Diana couldn’t finish her sentence before she felt something wrap around her waist. She looked down to find Akko had pulled her into a tight hug as she gave a cheerful grin. Diana hesitated for a moment before putting on a slightly happier smile than before. Amanda then wrapped her arm around Diana’s shoulder.

“Hey, we’re not perfect,” she said. “But like it or not, you’re stuck with us!”

Diana let out a small chuckle. Lotte was right, after giving them another chance. Akko and Amanda may have been ingrates, but they were _Diana's_ ingrates.

“Hey, check it out!” shouted Akko, pointing to the window. Diana and Amanda looked over and saw a few of the Pappilodya flying around the main campus, and making their way to the countryside.

“Guess they must’ve been late bloomers.” suggested Amanda. “Still look hella great though.”

But no one replied as they watched the elegant butterflies spread their wings and fly off into the unknown.


End file.
